Reachfield IT Solutions Pte Ltd

Winson Wee had been reviewing the operations of Reachfield IT Solutions. It

had been nine years since its incorporation and he was wondering whether the
years of growth had now passed. He started to contemplate how it all started
and what will the future bring.
Background
Winson is the middle son of three, of a long time company employee who had in
the early 1970s embarked on a new career as a contractor for provision of
electrical installation, from firstly buildings, then into providing similar services for
ships to the shipyards in Singapore.
His brothers had become professionals; one was an engineer, the other a
teacher. Both had gone to tertiary institutions after completing their secondary
school education in Singapore, but Winson, in 1987 decided it may be best for
him to first perform his National Service duties before deciding on what he should
do next. He had completed his A-levels, and obtained sufficient credits to obtain
University admission although he had not done well enough to obtain entry in the
more popular courses.
This was when the big event of his life came about. He met the girl who was to
become his wife. And on one of their dates, while he was doing his army service,
they started talking about an advertisement calling for candidates for a 2 year
course for a diploma in programming and analysis at the newly formed Japan
Singapore Institute of Software Technology at Singapore Polytechnic.
One of the subjects that Winson had sat for in his A level examinations was
computer studies, and he was somewhat familiar with the subject, although not
exactly proficient in it. Nonetheless he obtained admittance to the program. In
1989 he started his education in software engineering, the study of systems
analysis and design. During the internship attachment during this program he
was disappointed with his assignment at the Singapore Computer Systems, but
things improved after graduation when he obtained employment as a software
analyst at the Port of Singapore Authority. He also feels that he was lucky as he
was assigned to the marine department (which handles ship movements) rather
than the logistics unit that handled the cargo section. Firstly because there were
less people, 50 compared to some 380, and because of which he was given
more interesting assignments to handle.

Reachfield IT Solutions Pte Ltd

In 1993 he decided to upgrade his qualifications to a full degree, and obtained

admission to the University of Essex in the UK. There he worked on a Masters
dissertation in the area of artificial intelligence using neural networks. He did so
well at the program that he was offered a position to continue with his Ph D but
declined as he had married the girl of his dreams, the same one who had egged
him into the industry back in 1987, so that they could spend the year together in
the English midlands. Both wanted to return to Singapore to build careers and a
family.
It is worth noting that from the time they returned to Singapore Mrs Wee has
been actively engaged with running her own business, unrelated to the business
that Winson is now engaged in.
On returning to Singapore he joined the then Information Technology Institute, at
that time the R&D arm of the then National Computer Board (the institute is now
a unit of A-STAR, the Agency for Science, Technology and Research, and has
been renamed the Institute for Infocomm Research, or I 2R). When he joined ITI,
Winson was engaged with work in the Artificial Intelligence area. During this time
he was engaged in two national projects with the Department of Statistics of the
Ministry of Trade & Inudstry. The work was in information and data analysis. The
results of these studies have been used extensively in Population Census 2000.
After completion of these two projects, Winson moved on to become Assistant
Centre Manager of the Java Resource Centre. The centre was actively pursuing
projects involving Java technology. Projects completed included deliveries made
to the Ministry of Education, Ericsson Cyberlab and National Archives of
Singapore.
After spending six years at ITI, and with the news that ITI would be merging into
A*STAR, it was time again to consider what he should do with his life as without a
Ph D, the upcoming merger of the unit within the A*STAR could mean a ceiling
on professional progress.
Formation of Nexusedge Technologies Pte Ltd
The two years he had spent at the Java Resource Centre at the ITI meant that
Winson had built up good relationships with some of the staff that he had helped
to supervise. And when in 2000, when he was considering a change in career,
he was persuaded with six others who had been working at the Java Resources
Centre to establish a new company to engage in that area of business. The
seven set up Nexusedge Technologies Pte Ltd, placing a value of S$1,000,000
on the company with one angel contributing S$500,000 in cash. 5% of the
company was given to ITI in exchange for some of the core technology that the
principals had been working on at ITI.

Reachfield IT Solutions Pte Ltd

In 2003, a Malaysian venture capitalist group entered into the picture promising
S$2.5 mn cash injection. The focus of operation was to produce products for
institutional usage, principally a box that would control (1) a server engine, and
(2) a tool kit to design and drive applications driven by Java. The problem,
however, was that they were trying to sell a product that had not yet been
developed.
Its customer base was mostly from ITI where the principals had worked with the
projects. The National Archives of Singapore project had been one of the
contacts that had been passed on to Nexus. This was for a user interface to
overcome the limitations caused by the browser environment. Its difficulty was
making available its vast records, much of which were physical in nature,
available to the general public.
The partnership between the Malaysian venture capitalists and the Singaporean
professionals started to become more and more fractious as the lack of a
finished product at the time meant that there was great difficulty with generating
revenue. The friction by then grew to the extent that Winson decided that he
would quit the organisation. At the same time, the National Archives had become
nervous about allowing the work being done on their records by a nonSingaporean controlled company.
The congruence of events resulted in the formation of Reachfield IT Solutions.
The Early Years for Reachfield
Formed firstly by his wife and his sister in law, Reachfield soon had Winson as an
employee director (although he still carries the job-title of Vice-president today
because he claims that customers are less intimidated by that title than by a
more senior sounding title).
Its first customer was the National Archives of Singapore, but Reachifield was
able to add, between 2004 and 2006, the Singapore Tourism Board, the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, the Building Control Authority, and NUS High School as
customers. Each of them had similar problems, the issue of making available
audio and video records, and other records (like a PDF file) to end users
because of the difficulty that existing systems had, and still have, with enabling
the end user downloading of files expeditiously.
This was the problem that Winson has solved, initially using part time assistance
of other professionals in the market who he supervised. Some of these early
assistants were eventually to join the company as full time employees.
The success that the company achieved is very well illustrated by the attached
financial summary from its founding to the end of 2011. The problem however, is

Reachfield IT Solutions Pte Ltd

that once a solution had been found for the end user, there is relatively little
continuing fee income for doing maintenance and trouble shooting of the system
software and hardware.
The Partnership with A*STAR
Reachfield IT has an agreement with Exploit Technologies, which is the
commercialisation arm of A*STAR. This enables it to develop and market the
Scalable Multimedia Platform (SMP) technology. SMP simplifies the current
media transcoding process, and benefits video hosting service providers,
Most products now require the creation of multiple files to cater to a range of
bandwidths and device solutions. SMP technology, on the other hand, creates
just a single layered source file that can automatically adapt to the device and
to the bandwidth of end users. The solution therefore means a substantial
savings in reduced storage space, and minimises the man-hours needed for file
transcoding.
This technology was developed under A*STAR I 2R organisation. Under the
licence arrangements Reachfield pays a one time fee for each new customer it
uses the SMP technology for.
The Situation in 2012
Reachfield is now seeking appointment as an approved vendor for video storage
and retrieval processes by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore.
The nature of this approval will allow government departments intending to
engage a vendor for video hosting and portal related work to do so without
entering into a tendering process.
The last IDA approval process was called two years ago. A call for collaboration
tender has been initiated. IDA will specify the requirements and deliverables so
that participants are aware, and also to ensure that vendors selected will be able
to meet their stringent and careful evaluation of the submission.
Envision and Servtouch currently are the two companies appointed by IDA to
supply video related product and services to the government agencies. It is an
optional consideration for government agencies to engage their services. Their
engagement merely reduces the paperwork and procurement process for the
agencies.
Reachfield IT will participate in the next IDA call for collaboration. The current
tenure will expire by end of 2012. IDA is expected to invite all potential
participants to be qualified for the next period by Q4 2012.

Reachfield IT Solutions Pte Ltd

With Reachfield ITs current government agencies customers, it believes that it

will stand a high chance of being appointed by IDA to supply the video products
and technology to other government agencies. In addition, the research
collaboration with I2R will reinforce the technical capabilities on its video
technologies and enhance its chances in having its work endorsed by IDA.

Reachfield IT Solutions Pte Ltd

Reachfield IT Solutions Pte Ltd

Exhibit 1
Profit & Loss Statement (in S$)

For Year Ended December 31

2011

2010

336,28
9
5,00
0
341,28
9

261,21
7
21
6
261,43
3

40,31
1

74,39
6

162,34
0
4,29
8
133,17
2
340,12
1
1,16
8
1,12
3
2,29
1

153,56
3
4,88
6
55,61
8
288,46
3
(27,030
)
(2,595
)
(29,625
)

2,29
1

(29,625
)

2009

2008

2007

608,711

318,94
4

391,192

2006

2005

2004

419,56
7
5,07
9
424,64
6

165,88
3
15,60
8
181,49
1

82,69
3
8,60
0
91,29
3

61,38
0

34,02
1

Revenue
Service Income
Government Grant

345
609,056

318,94
4

5,767
396,959

Cost & Expenses

Cost of Sales & Services
Parts Materials, Consumables
Subcontractor cost
Employee Benefits
Depreciation
Other expenses

Total Costs
Profit/(loss) before tax
Taxation
Net profit/(loss) for year
Dividend declared

Transfer to S/holders Account

185,821
221,862
119,969
527,652
81,404
(6,342
)
75,062
(150,000
)
(74,938
)

32,01
4
165,67
2
3,38
4
56,18
7
257,25
7
61,68
7
(6,580
)
55,10
7
55,10
7

63,732
135,820
3,200
37,266
240,018
156,941
(13,849
)
143,092
(200,000
)
(56,908
)

114,24
1
15,27
0
156,01
6
2,28
5
63,25
5
351,06
7
73,57
9

81,74
2
6,64
3
10,60
7
160,37
2
21,11
9

50,03
7
2,07
3
6,72
3
92,85
4
(1,561
)

73,57
9

21,11
9

(1,561
)

73,57
9

21,11
9

(1,561
)

Note:
The government grants received in every year except one were for feasibility studies conducted
with government institutions, as well grants given by a government entity for working on projects
using the assistance of A*STAR researchers.

Reachfield IT Solutions Pte Ltd

Exhibit 2
Reachfield IT Solutions Pte Ltd
Balance Sheets (in S$)
For Year Ended December 31
2011
-

2004
80
3

46,68
8

62,76
3

7,35
0

24,30
1

6,35
2

18,20
1
21,40
0

30,91
8

Amount due from related party

82,97
9
10,70
0

Prepayments

86,56
1

72,26
0

98,63
4

187,89
5

168,61
0

110,12
1
78,27
9

13
5

118,83
2

124,43
8

133,24
9

135,02
3

192,31
3

227,49
6

199,52
8

195,75
0

143,13
3

131,72
8

44,18
4

25,55
7

2,61
3

14,86
2
2,86
6

8,48
3

51,95
0
2,90
1

6,42
0
55
0

12,28
6
6,14
6

40,96
7
13,84
9

1,00
1
70
0
1,81
6
29,77
2

Fixed Assets
Current Assets
Trade Debtors

Amount due from Director

Bank & Cash Balances

Total Assets

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

Current Liabilities
Trade Creditors
Accrued Expenses
Other Creditors
Amount due to Director

22,69
3

Provision for taxation

14,71
1
6,35
3

44,18
5

48,25
0

75,91
5

36,16
0

89,06
4

86,77
3

116,39
8

100,00
0
(10,93
6)

100,00
0
(13,22
7)

89,06
4

86,77
3

Total Liabilities

NET ASSETS

Share Capital
Accumulated Profit/(Loss)
TOTAL LIABILITIES &
SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY

16,60
5

63,29
9

2,61
3

23,57
5

33,28
9

191,33
6

136,22
9

193,13
7

119,55
8

98,43
9

100,00
0
16,39
8

100,00
0
91,33
6

100,00
0
36,22
9

100,00
0
93,13
7

100,00
0
19,55
8

100,00
0
(1,561
)

116,39
8

191,33
6

136,22
9

193,13
7

119,55
8

98,43
9

Reachfield IT Solutions Pte Ltd

Reachfield IT Solutions Pte Ltd

Appendix I
The Role of the Institute of Infocomm Research, and its
proprietary Scalable Multimedia Platform (SMP)
SMP technology essentially creates one single layered source file that will
adapt automatically to the device and band width of end users, which means that
it no longer requires multiple files to be created to cater for different brand widths,
and device resolutions. It does this by simplifying the current media transcoding
process, and that benefits video hosting service providers. In essence it means
that if you want to watch Titanic, you only have to download a single file, but view
it either on an iPhone, a computer, of a high definitive TV set.
SMP technology was developed by the Institute for Infocomm Research (I 2R), a
unit of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR). I 2R was
formerly known as the Information Technology Institute where Winson Wee used
to work in the Artificial Intelligence AI) area. He had actually been involved with
early research work on the SMP process.
The Market for SMP Solutions
The market for SMP solutions range from government agencies to private
organisations. Documents, images and audio-video files are now commonly
used in today's business world. The ability to enable these digits to be properly
managed, efficiently stored, and quickly retrieved, is one of the principal
requirements.
It is not surprising that the first organisation to engage Reachfield to provide a
solution is Singapore's National Archives. This is because much of the
information comes from some time ago before there were proper mediums for
storage of data or information, much of which have now been converted to PDF
files that take up a lot of storage capacity.
The other customers have tended to be government agencies. And the range of
activity, apart from the National Archives, includes the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
who need to transmit audio visual, documentary or images via secure linkages to
embassies and missions outside of Singapore. The Building & Construction
Authority holds plans of all buildings built in Singapore, and again much of the
historical information is not in digital format and has also been required to be
stored, principally via PDF files, to be available for easy retrieval from authorised
users.

Reachfield IT Solutions Pte Ltd

A recent innovation has been the addition of NUS High School as a customer.
NUS High is a secondary school linked to the National University of Singapore,
where classes at the higher levels are recorded and made available to students
for retrieval via a audio-visual format. Again there are the issues of capacity, end
user equipment characteristics, and rapid retrieval for the student to access, are
the problems that need to be resolved.
The Role Played by I2R
I2R was set up in 2002 and has as its mission to be the globally preferred source
of innovations in Interactive Secured Information, Content and Services Anytime
Anywhere. Research is conducted in Singapore and is done in the areas of
information, communications, and media (ICM) technologies to develop holistic
solutions across the ICM value chain.
In I2R's latest report, it discloses that it employs 574 research staff number, of
which 52% (or 299) hold doctoral degrees, 29% (or 157) hold master degrees. It
also reports that between 2003 and 2012, it had published 1,272 articles in
Research Journals, and contributed 3,693 conference papers. It has won a fair
number of prestigious best paper awards for some presented at these
conferences,
Some of their staff hold editorial positions with some of the
publications of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
Because it is concentrated on research, the institute has actively been spinning
off small companies, often with the original researchers forming part of the new
companies as founding shareholders. This is how NexusEdge Technologies was
established, and was how Winson Wee embarked on his entrepreneurial career.
As mentioned in the case, I2R retained a stake in this entity in exchange for
permitting the use of the research results already achieved up till that time.
Exploit Technologies (ET)
ET is involved with bridging R&D and industry, and to maximise the commercial
potential of A*STAR. This is done through IP awareness and protection, and
incubation of both technologies and businesses by licensing A*STAR's
intellectual property, spinning off high potential companies.
It now has a portfolio of some 3000 active patents, and has granted more than
250 licences for proprietary technologies as well as spinning off 24 companies.
One such licence is the agreement with Reachfield to develop and market SMP
technology. For 2012 I2R expects to generate some S$500 mn in revenue by its
licensees from sale of products, and provision of services. It also believes that
the total market value, some realised, that has been created by its start-ups have
reached some S$75 mn.

Reachfield IT Solutions Pte Ltd

10

Industry players and businesses can benefit from collaborating with ET using its
technologies, through research collaboration, through commercialisation of
technology funding, as well as through licensing of technologies. This enables
companies to save significant costs on their own R&D, as well as reducing its
risks from such investment.

References
Annual Reports of the Institute for Infocomm Research from 2003

Reachfield IT Solutions Pte Ltd

11

Reachfield IT Solutions Pte Ltd

Appendix II
Japan Singapore Institute of Software Technology

The Japan Singapore Institute if Software Technology (JSIST) was established in

late 1983 with the objective of training and educating computer engineers. In its
first ten years of operation some 1,400 students graduated and one of the
interesting developments was the number of entrepreneurs that number among
the graduates.
The Inter-Government Technical Institutes, and the Japan Singapore Institutes
JSIST was one of a number of Japan Singapore Technical Institutes that resulted
from a request from Singapore, in 1979, for assistance in providing training. The
first disciplines requested were for plastic injection, tool & die, mould making, and
industrial electronics. The first such institute set up was the Japan Singapore
Training Centre (JSTC) and was one of the earlier instances of foreign
government sponsored technology aid in Singapore.
After the JSTC was set up, the Japanese government was to provide further aid
from 1983 which resulted in the establishment of the Japan Singapore Technical
Institute. (JSTI).
This was where precision engineering and production
technology was to be taught to enable Singapores industrialisation. The specific
areas identified were mould making, value added machining (electro-discharge,
wire cut, surface technology), mechatronics and others. About 15 experts were
sent by the Japanese government to train Singapore workers over the next five
years. The JSTI is also considered a key reason why major Japanese
corporations like Oriental Motors, Yokogawa, Sony, Yamazaki, and Hitachi, to
name just a few, decided to locate in Singapore. At one stage, Japanese
companies provided 60% of the employment offered by all foreign companies in
Singapore.
When the JSTI project ended in 1988, the institute became part of the new
polytechnic, the Nanyang Polytechnic.
The Predecessor Technical Institutes
It should be noted that while the JSTC was one of the first inter-governmental
partnerships organised by Singapore for upgrading the technical skills of
Singapore workers. But the earlier initial model used was based on giving
incentives to foreign corporate investors to set up training centres that included a

Reachfield IT Solutions Pte Ltd

12

guarantee for the foreign investor to hire a proportion of the graduates from the
program so that they would have workers with the right skill sets in a tight labour
market. The first targets were actually companies that included the former RolleiWerke of Germany, Phillips of the Netherlands, and the Tata Group from India.
Incentives given to the foreign corporations varied. In the case of Rollei, it was
given the right of refusal, for a period of ten years. This meant that a whole range
of products that it could manufacture was placed on a control of manufacture
ordinance.
This meant that any other potential manufacturer of the same
products would require a licence to produce them in Singapore and would only
be granted such a license if Rollei declined to manufacture the product here. In
the case of Tata, loans were provided, as well as land at reasonable rent. In
addition, the government paid for training equipment, materials, as well as
picking up 70% of the operating costs of the training institute.
It was in the early 1980s that Singapore's Economic Development Board (EDB)
began to expand its focus to create training centres funded jointly with other
governments. The logic was that if the foreign government could be persuaded
to invest in skills development in Singapore that would give an important
incentive for firms from that country to also invest in the country. This was when
the JSTC was first formed, followed by the German Singapore Institute for
Production Technology, the French Singapore Institute for Electro-technology,
and eventually the JSIST.
The Japan Singapore Insittute for Software Technology
The project was a technical cooperation project was led by the Japan
International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and was run over 10 years over two
phases of five years each. This involved the training of programmers, system
analysts, and system programmers, and offered training in Japan for the
Singapore instructors who taught in the program. A more sophisticated Artificial
Intelligence (AI) Centre cooperation project was also set up for an additional two
years. In the second half of the program, until 1998, third country training
programs were run in order to train computer engineers from the Asean nations.
In 1991, the JSIST was absorbed within the Singapore tertiary education system.
It was placed under the jurisdiction of the National Computer Board, and was
eventually to become a department of the Singapore Polytechnic, the first of the
four technical colleges that currently operate in Singapore. The JSIST name
remains to this day, at the entrance hall of the present Software Engineering
Department at the Polytechnic, acknowledging both its history and the
involvement of Japan in its establishment.

Reachfield IT Solutions Pte Ltd

13

The Programs and Graduates

Students in the succeeding institution, the Singapore Polytechnic's Software
Engineering Department, enter the college at age 16 to 17, and go through a
three year program. In the last five months before graduation they have to
undergo on-the-job training at a company. In many cases the on-the-job
attachments take place outside of Singapore. About 25% of the graduates tend
to go on to study at universities in English speaking countries, many in the UK
and in Australia, to earn bachelors or post graduate degrees. At that time
graduates from the program were not permitted to change employers for their
first three years after graduation.
In a note a former graduate talks about her days in the program between 1996
and 1999. She was part of a class of 27, seven women and 20 men. At that time
students in the program were required to learn Japanese as part of the course.
Entering students were required to hold A level certificates (A levels are post
secondary school programs during which students normally sit for four subjects
and a general paper in final examinations conducted by the Cambridge
University Syndicate, the same certificate is required for entry into universities
world-wide of students completing their secondary school education in
Singapore).
There remains a network of the earlier graduates and the surprise was to find
that many of them ended up entrepreneurs setting up their own companies
engaged in the software area. This is probably because in the earlier years,
there was a limited amount of employment opportunities and many graduates
found it opportunistic to set up companies focused at providing some part of the
work or business cycle involved with computerisation.
How the Singapore Government Kick-started Computerisation in Singapore
It was as early as 1980 that Singapore decided on the production and use of
Information Technology as a national objective. Within ten years, one in four
households owned a computer, and the percentage of companies (with more
than ten employees) using computers rose from 13% in 1982 to 75%. The
number of IT professionals rose from just 850 in 1980 to around 14,000 by 1991.
BY 1991, the Computer Industry Almanac had ranked Singapore among the top
ten in terms of number of computers per capita.
This development is attributed to government intervention through the use of IT
policies, effective regulation, and implementation.
It was in 1980 that the Economic Planning Committee of the Ministry of Trade &
Industry drafted its plan for the 1980s. The centrepiece of the plan was to
restructure the economy by moving in high value-added, technology based,

Reachfield IT Solutions Pte Ltd

14

knowledge and skill intensive industries to make its products and services more
competitive internationally. A cabinet committee on national computerisation was
formed in March 1980, and its first study completed by October that year. One of
the conclusions was that a big obstacle holding back development of the
software industry was the lack of trained personnel. That was when it was
decided that attention be given to develop opportunities for training computer
personnel, and plans made for enabling this to be encouraged.. And in 1981, the
National Computer Board (NCB) was established.
Three institutes were set up under the NCB. This included the Institute of
Systems Science, the Japan-Singapore Institute of Software Technology, and the
Centre for Computer Studies between December 1981 and December 1982.
The NCB is represented on the advisory committees of each of these institutions.
Other efforts put in by the NCB was to help computer software companies by
jointly developing JTC Accommodation for Selected Service Industries which
enables approved computer software companies to be located in JTC (Jurong
Town Corporation which was at that time the principal builder of industrial
properties for companies manufacturing in Singapore) flatted factories at low
costs but one key condition was that the applicant had to show current export
activity, or plans for the export of its services or products.
References
Kuruvilla, Sarosh, Erickson, Christopher L., and Hwang, Alvin. An Assessment of Singapore Skills
Development: Does it Constitute a Viable Model for Other Developing Countries? World
Development Vol 30, pp 1461-1476, 2002
Yeo, Kee Leng, Loh, Chee Meng; Thong, Pao Yi & Koh, Pia Chin. Information Technology and
the Singapore Experience. AMIC-EWC Research Workshop on the Computer and Information
Development in Asean: Singapore March 27-30, 1984. Singapore: Asia Mass Communication
Research
&
Information
Centre.
Pek Hooi, Soh & James Ang.
The Role of the Singapore Government in National
Computerisation. Paper. Departement of Decision Sciences, Faculty of Business Adminsitration,
National University of Singapore (undated paper)
Hiroshi Aoki Third Party Evaluation of Singapore and Malaysian Industrial Projects. JICA Annual
Evaluation Report 2000. Chapter 3 Section III. Pp299-307
Fong, Aik Meng Japan Singapore Technical Institute A International Cooperation in Human
Resource Development for Inclusive Growth.
Paper presented at Nanyang Polytechnic
International. 2010.

Reachfield IT Solutions Pte Ltd

15

Reachfield IT Solutions Pte Ltd

Appendix III
Reachfields Drams 2.0 System and its Market Reach
The Product
DRAMS 2.0 or Digital Resources Archival Management System is the principal
product sold by the company. It is best described as performing the following
functions
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)

Gathering all your media contents encompassing images,

documents, audio-videos
Indexing, ingesting, managing, and cataloguing them
Disseminating or delivering them anywhere on a PC, tablet, or
smart phone platform
Is a fast and efficient search engine against meta-date, images and
videos

DRAMS 2.0 has solved issues like the consolidation of digital assets from various
resources for companies or institutions that have massive records, very often in
different media forms, that do not lend themselves firstly to easy retrieval, and
more importantly from being downloaded by an authorised end-user.
The Market
Right now the market comprises broadcasters, educational institutions, libraries,
government agencies, media and advertising companies, architectural and
design providers, as well as museums.
To date, Reachfield counts on the Singapore National Archives, the Singapore
Building Control Authority, the Singapore Tourist Promotion Board, and the NUS
High School, as customers. Each had unique needs of storage, the first two in
particular having difficulty with making the digitalised records that are in original
print format conveniently readable from an approved on-line investigator.
It is difficult to estimate an industry size for this business because the case writer
considers DRAMS 2.0 as the equivalent of the fax machine during the era when
information transmission was via telex, if not telegram.

Reachfield IT Solutions Pte Ltd

16

The Parallels of the Telegram, Telex, and Fax evolution to DRAMS 2.0
Going back some 40 years to before the 1970s, office machines then invariably
included a typewriter and a telephone only. Urgent messages then had to be
transmitted via telegram which brought up the issue of security, and brevity in
writing.
The first was because telegrams were sent through telephone
companies or post offices, and the operator if not some someone else, could
read what was being transmitted. Brevity brought about the problems of being
misunderstood at the expense of a more expensive transmission.
It was only around 1970 that telex machines were introduced. And what that did
was to improve the security side of the problem because companies with
sufficient traffic could install a machine in its own office and there was less of an
issue with brevity. But there was invariably the need to employ a suitable person
to work as telex operator as invariably few senior executives were competent on
the machines.
Then the fax machine came into vogue in the 1980s. Now entire documents,
shrunk down to the right size to suit the machine, could be transmitted as a
virtual photocopy. This was especially revolutionary as it now truly expanded the
amount of information being transmitted across the seas.
What DRAMS 2.0 does in this day and age of the internet, and ultra fast data and
information transmission is to make it possible for a large library to become
readily accessible to an authorised end-user using the search and cataloguing
functions; then the retrieval of the information. Next is the question of the ability
to properly download the data or information at the user end. This had caused
issues because users did not necessarily have universally the same programs for
viewing, something that DRAMS 2.0 can accommodate.
And most of all DRAMS 2.0 is able to handle audio-visual media, making it
possible for some educational institutions to make available, for their selected
period of time, to properly authorised end users, items like a lecture that can be
transmitted across continents, in its recorded form. Certainly one of the key
issues that DRAMS 2.0 solves is that of storage and transmission of some files,
those using TIFF or PDF, for example, that would otherwise be too huge to
readily transmit via the internet.
The Costs of Using DRAMS 2.0
One of the key selling points for the product is that the information provider only
needs to purchase a server, install a customised solution, and store its
information, to enable this system to work. The costs are not excessive. But the
question is who could be the possible parties that would use this system?

Reachfield IT Solutions Pte Ltd

17

No one customer of Reachfield has had to spend more than S$500,000 to install
the system, and that amount applies only to the largest of its customers. Others
have spent considerably less.
The Possible Market
The most likely Singapore government agencies are already customers of
Reachfield. And its total income since it started this business has only reached
just over S$2.5 million.
Singapore not having a big distance learning education industry possibly has
fairly limited further growth potential.
It is within the region, and internationally, that the prospects start to get more
interesting. Nonetheless it would prove to be a major surprise if the market for
this service has a total value of more than S$100 million on a Asia Pacific wide
basis.

Reachfield IT Solutions Pte Ltd

18

Reachfield IT Solutions Pte Ltd

Appendix III
Reachfields Drams 2.0 System and its Market Reach
The Product
DRAMS 2.0 or Digital Resources Archival Management System is the principal
product sold by the company. It is best described as performing the following
functions
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)

Gathering all your media contents encompassing images,

documents, audio-videos
Indexing, ingesting, managing, and cataloguing them
Disseminating or delivering them anywhere on a PC, tablet, or
smart phone platform
Is a fast and efficient search engine against meta-date, images and
videos

DRAMS 2.0 has solved issues like the consolidation of digital assets from various
resources for companies or institutions that have massive records, very often in
different media forms, that do not lend themselves firstly to easy retrieval, and
more importantly from being downloaded by an authorised end-user.
The Market
Right now the market comprises broadcasters, educational institutions, libraries,
government agencies, media and advertising companies, architectural and
design providers, as well as museums.
To date, Reachfield counts on the Singapore National Archives, the Singapore
Building Control Authority, the Singapore Tourist Promotion Board, and the NUS
High School, as customers. Each had unique needs of storage, the first two in
particular having difficulty with making the digitalised records that are in original
print format conveniently readable from an approved on-line investigator.
It is difficult to estimate an industry size for this business because the case writer
considers DRAMS 2.0 as the equivalent of the fax machine during the era when
information transmission was via telex, if not telegram.

Reachfield IT Solutions Pte Ltd

19

The Parallels of the Telegram, Telex, and Fax evolution to DRAMS 2.0
Going back some 40 years to before the 1970s, office machines then invariably
included a typewriter, and a telephone only. Urgent messages then had to be
transmitted via telegram which brought up the issue of security, and brevity in
writing.
The first was because telegrams were sent through telephone
companies or post offices, and the operator if not some someone else, could
read what was being transmitted. Brevity brought about the problems of being
misunderstood at the expense of a more expensive transmission.
It was only around 1970 that telex machines were introduced. And what that did
was to improve the security side of the problem because companies with
sufficient traffic could install a machine in its own office and there was less of an
issue with brevity. But there was invariably the need to employ a suitable person
to work as telex operator as invariably few senior executives were competent on
the machines.
Then the fax machine came into vogue in the 1980s. Now entire documents,
shrunk down to the right size to suit the machine, could be transmitted as a
virtual photocopy. This was especially revolutionary as it now truly expanded the
amount of information being transmitted across the seas.
What DRAMS 2.0 does in this day and age of the internet, and ultra fast data and
information transmission is to make it possible for a large library to become
readily accessible to an authorised end-user using the search and cataloguing
functions; then the retrieval of the information. Next is the question of the ability
to properly download the data or information at the user end. This had caused
issues because users did not necessarily have universally the same programs for
viewing, something that DRAMS 2.0 can accommodate.
And most of all DRAMS 2.0 is able to handle audio-visual media, making it
possible for some educational institutions to make available, for their selected
period of time, to properly authorised end users, items like a lecture that can be
transmitted across continents, in its recorded form. Certainly one of the key
issues that DRAMS 2.0 solves is that of storage as some files using TIFF or PDF
for example, could be too huge to readily transmit via the internet.
The Costs of Using DRAMS 2.0
One of the key selling points is that the information provider only requires to
purchase a server, install a customised solution, and store its information, to
enable this system to work. The costs are not excessive. But the question is
who are the possible parties that could use this system.

Reachfield IT Solutions Pte Ltd

20

No one customer of Reachfield has had to spend more than S$500,000 to install
the system, and that amount applies only to the largest of its customers. Others
have spent considerably less.
The Possible Market
The most likely Singapore government agencies are already customers of
Reachfield. And its total income since it started this business has only totalled
just over S$2.5 million.
Singapore not having a big distance learning education industry possibly has
fairly limited further growth potential.
It is within the region, and internationally, that the prospects start to get more
interesting. Nonetheless it would prove to be a major surprise if the market for
this service has a total value of more than S$100 million on a Asia Pacific wide
basis.